A lo mejor muchos de los seguidores del fútbol no se han percatado de la hazaña recién completada por el equipo de FutFem profesional, North Carolina Courage, de la National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Durante el fin de semana ganaron el campeonato de dicha liga, de visitantes en Oregon, con triunfo convincente de 3-0 ante las campeonas del torneo pasado, Portland Thorns.

Sepa usted que la NWSL es, por mucho, la principal liga de FutFem de las Américas (CONCACAF y CONMEBOL).

Pero, las corajudas de Carolina del Norte no sólo se coronan reinas de la liga, sino que rompieron varias marcas durante la campaña regular. En un torneo a 24 partidos por equipo. las Courage fueron las más ganadoras desde que inauguró la NWSL en 2013, con 17 victorias (1 sola derrota y 6 empates); mayor número de puntos, con 57pts. y total más alto de goles marcados, 53.

VIDEO: Llegada de las campeonas al aeropuerto de Raleigh, North Carolina




"I absolutely love how the NC Courage keeps their composure throughout the toughest competition. To watch the Courage play is truly beautiful. You can physically see the chemistry the women share with each other. Each player has their preferred style of play and yet the women are able to connect it all together," expresó a QuePalo.com la jugadora del programa nacional de FutFem de Puerto Rico, MERCEDES BAUZÁ

"The Courage's forwards continue to astound me and as a forward myself, I love to study their movements. However, the connectedness of the team's back line was sometimes the only reason they were able to secure a win," señaló Mercedes, quien estudia y juega soccer en Greensboro College, North Carolina.

El verano 2018 será inolvidable para esta franquicia que se relocalizó en Carolina del Norte en 2017, luego de haber ganado también el campeonato de la NWSL en 2016 bajo la franquicia de las Western New York Flash.

El pasado 30 de julio, en Miami, Florida, las Courage vencieron al Lyon de Francia 1-0 en la 1ra edición del Women’s International Champions Cup. Las chicas 'coraje' superaron a un club europeo cuyo palmarés presenta 5 trofeos de la UEFA Champions League. Heather O'Reilly anotó el único gol del desafío, y la portera Sabrina D’Angelo evitó varios disparos con etiqueta de gol, para compartir el protagonismo vencedor antes el club francés.

Curiosamente, y como muestra de la profundidad que tiene la plantilla de North Carolina, en la Final del sábado ante Portland, O'Reilly entró de suplente luego del minuto 80, y D’Angelo no jugó.

"After beating Lyon 1-0 in July, and now 3-0 over Portland, NC Courage has to be considered the best women's team in the world," declaró el director técnico y ejecutivo del Puerto Rico Sol, SHEK BORKOWSKI.

Sobre la diferencia en el once titular de aquel juego internacional, y la final doméstica del sábado, Shek abundó...

"Against Lyon, Courage was missing 7 players due to injuries and national team call ups."


VIDEO: La MVP de la Final fue Jessica McDonald



QuePalo.com auscultó a cuatro de las futbolistas refuerzo del club PUERTO RICO SOL. Estas fueron sus impresiones:

» ZOE SWIFT, Delantera

“North Carolina was a deep team in terms of their players. My favorite part about the Courage are probably their forwards up top, Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald to be exact. Although more chances could have been finished, the fact that they had as many chances as they did shows great soccer knowledge and field awareness.”


» CYDNEY NIEDERMAYER, Defensa Central

“Both teams that competed in the final were quality. The whole NWSL is filled with quality teams. Courage went out on game day and got the job done. They were smart on both sides of the ball and never stopped. Both teams displayed amazing sportsmanship. Congrats to both teams for making it to the finals. That is an awesome accomplishment.”


» CHRISTINA HOLGUIN, Portera

"I liked that we as viewers could tell which team clearly wanted the win more. NC Courage’s game was exceptional with the way they were able to get to the ball first, keep possession, get behind/play around the defense, and taking chances at goal. Plain and simple - NC Courage was there to compete and that is exactly what they did. They dominated the game and put there chances in the back of the net! Well deserved win!


» JENNIFER MUÑOZ, MedioCampo

"They all treat themselves as family. Not only that but most of the teammates are very open about their faith and there is no judgement like i said earlier. Instead they grow it as a team and understand each other. Other than that they are a good team that works very hard even when they don’t have all the National Team players on the team. A lot of them are young and come from different backgrounds."


Las nuevas monarcas de la NWSL tienen en su plantilla jugadoras del standing de McDonald, Lynn Williams, Crystal Dunn, O'Reilly, Samantha Mewis, la brasileña Debinha, Jaelene Hinkle, Abby Dahlkemper, y McCall Zerboni, quien fue una de las finalistas al premio MVP del torneo (ganado por Lyndsey Horan, Portland) pero que no pudo participar en los Playoffs por estar lesionada.


VIDEO: En 60 segundos, los 3 goles y las mejores jugadas del N.C Courage 3-0 vs Portland Thorns



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